Our Daily Bread - LISTENING TO GOD

Listening to God

January 5, 2017

Read: Genesis 3:8–17 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 13–15; Matthew 5:1–26

00:00

 Download MP3

 Subscribe to iTunes

The Lord God called . . . “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9

My young son loves to hear my voice, except when I call his name loudly and sternly, followed by the question, “Where are you?” When I do that, I am usually calling for him because he has been into some mischief and is trying to hide from me. I want my son to listen to my voice because I’m concerned about his well-being and do not want him to get hurt.

Adam and Eve were used to hearing God’s voice in the garden. However, after they disobeyed Him by eating the forbidden fruit, they hid from Him when they heard Him calling, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9). They didn’t want to face God because they knew they had done something wrong—something He had told them not to do (v. 11).

Thank You, Lord, for Your love and care.

When God called for Adam and Eve and found them in the garden, His words did include correction and consequence (vv. 13–19). But God also showed them kindness and gave them hope for mankind in the promise of the Savior (v. 15).

God doesn’t have to look for us. He knows where we are and what we are trying to hide. But as a loving Father, He wants to speak to our hearts and bring us forgiveness and restoration. He longs for us to hear His voice—and to listen.  

Thank You, Lord, for Your love and care. Thank You for sending Your Son, our Savior, to fulfill Your promise of forgiveness and restoration.

When God calls, we need to answer.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional - THE EVER PRESENT HELPER

Open Heaven Thursday 5 January 2017:- The Ever Present Helper

THE EVER PRESENT HELPER –Thursday January 5^th 2017

Memorise: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

Read: 1^st Kings 17:8-16 (King James Version)

⁸ And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

⁹ Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

¹¹ And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

¹² And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

¹³ And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

¹⁴ For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

¹⁵ And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

¹⁶ And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

Bible in one year: Matthew 11-12, Isaiah 3:24-5:7, Hymn: Sing hymn 4

MESSAGE:

The poor widow in today’s Bible reading was getting ready to eat her last meal and then die; but against her expectations, help came her way. This indicates that help can come to you when you need it the most. Psalm 46:1 tells us who our help is:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Sometimes, when a child of God is going through some difficulties, God may appear silent. That He is silent does not mean He is ignorant of what is happening. Though things may go on to deteriorate, He will step in before it’s too late. The Lord knows about that painful and highly detestable situation you have been living with. Although He has been quite for a while, He will now arise for you and arrest the situation. When it appears like the enemy is about to put you to shame, just in the nick of time, your help will locate you. God’s intervention shall not be late concerning your situation in Jesus’ Name. Can you imagine what would have happened if the fourth man had not appeared on time in King Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace (Daniel 3:25)? The three Hebrew children would have been history, but because He came right on time, they made history! You too shall make history! God will not be late for you. His intervention in your life shall be timely, and He shall shut up the mouth of your enemies.

Moreover, in the case of this widow, not only did help come in time, it kept on coming everyday because she was connected with the One called the All Sufficient God (Genesis 17:1). When you go into battle, your strength, wisdom and resources are limited to what you and your allies have. In other words, who you partner with in a crucial battle can either guarantee your victory or turn out to be your undoing. At such a decisive moment, the widow partnered with the God that is more than enough, and she never lacked again. Who is your ally today? When faced with a most trying time, who do you run to? If you run to man whose strength, wisdom and resources are limited, you will be unable to tackle that situation. If you run to a local or foreign deity, you will still be limited. Some people depend on charms, rings and amulets from so-called Indian spiritual temples for help. It’s a pity that after the serpent spirits of such temples have offered some form of fake assistance to them, those spirits end up turning them into their slaves, thereby ruining their destiny and that of their family members. Partner with the One who can always help you.

Key Point

There is no helper like Jesus, and no one deserts in the time of need like Satan.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Faith Food Devotional - BRAND-NEW MAN

January 5

BRAND-NEW MAN

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." — 1 PETER 2:2

When the sinner comes to Jesus, his sins are remitted — blotted out. But not only are his sins blotted out — all that he was, spiritually speaking, in the sight of God — is blotted out. His sins cease to exist. He becomes a new man in Christ Jesus. God does not see anything in that person’s life before the moment he was born again! In today’s text, Peter is writing to born-again Christians who have be become new men in Christ. The Bible, you see, teaches a similarity between physical growth and spiritual growth. No one is born as a fullgrown human being; we are born as babies in the natural, and then we grow up. Likewise, no one is born as a full-grown Christian. Christians are born as spiritual babies, and they grow up. Look at a newborn babe in the natural lying in its mother’s arms. Its outstanding characteristic is innocence. People say to the baby, “You sweet little innocent thing.” No one thinks of that baby as having a past! So do you see what God is saying here through Peter? God is saying to people who have been born again and are now babes in Christ, “As newborn babes . . . .” In other words, God is saying, “You have become a new creature — a newborn babe! Your past is gone! I’m not remembering anything against you!”

Confession:
"I am a brand-new creature. I’m a brand-new man [or woman]. All that I was before I was born into the family of God is blotted out. I’m God’s child — His babe — His very own child."

CGMI ABOVE ONLY - Restoration by the Word of the Lord

Above Only Daily Devotional
http://cgmglobal.org/aboveonly

Wednesday, January 4

Restoration by the Word of the Lord

Judges 6:7-8, 11-12 …
when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites, … the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel,… And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak …and … Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
One major way that God begins His process of restoration is by sending His Word to us. In response to the prayers of the children of Israel, God sent a prophet to pinpoint how they went astray by
following other gods and to remind them of His faithfulness.

But God did not stop there. Through an angel, He sent His Word to Gideon. Gideon was hiding to thresh wheat in a wine press and God sent His Word to him, telling him that he was a mighty man of valour. Often times, what God will say to you will not be what you expect to hear, but it will be a word that will stir up His life and grace on the inside of you. 2Timothy 3:16-17 says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Having prayed and repented where necessary, giving yourself to God's Word is something that will benefit you immensely. Allow the Spirit of God to lead you to locate the Word that God has sent concerning your life and situation. God's Word can provide correction, direction, inspiration and strength that will stir you up for exploits that will bring about divine restoration in your life. As you open up yourself to God's Word today, His Word will stir you up for exploits and divine restoration.

PRAYER FOCUS: I am open to your voice of God. Send forth Your Word to me and let Your Word stir me up for exploits and divine restoration.

BIBLE IN A YEAR READING PLAN: JOB 1-5

Empowered to do exploits...

Our Daily Bread - A MULTIPLIED LOVE

A Multiplied Love

January 4, 2017

Read: 1 John 4:20–5:5 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 10–12; Matthew 4

00:00

 Download MP3

 Subscribe to iTunes

Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 1 John 4:21

When a woman in Karen’s church was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), things looked bad. This cruel disease affects nerves and muscles, eventually leading to paralysis. The family’s insurance wouldn’t cover home care, and the stricken woman’s husband couldn’t bear the thought of putting her in a nursing home.

As a nurse, Karen had the expertise to help and began going to the woman’s home to care for her. But she soon realized she couldn’t take care of her own family while meeting the needs of her friend, so she started teaching others in the church to help. As the disease ran its course over the next seven years, Karen trained thirty-one additional volunteers who surrounded that family with love, prayer, and practical assistance.  

Ask God to show you how He wants you to use your gifts for His kingdom.

“Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister,” said John the disciple (1 John 4:21). Karen gives us a shining example of that kind of love. She had the skills, compassion, and vision to rally a church family around a hurting friend. Her love for one person in need became a multiplied love lived out by many. 

How might God use your talents and abilities to serve others in need? Ask God to show you how He wants you to use your gifts for His kingdom.

To learn more, read God Is Love at discoveryseries.org/q0612.

Love your neighbor as yourself.  —Jesus

INSIGHT:

In the gospel of John, Jesus told His disciples that love would be the identifying mark of His followers: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (13:35). He also told them: “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (15:10). The connection between these two verses is as simple as it is wonderful: Loving Jesus means keeping His commands, and His command is to love. In fact, John says we cannot do one if we do not do the other. They cannot be separated—we cannot love God in one way and fellow believers in another way. Rather, “Whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20). 

DCLM DAILY MANNA - NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL

Wednesday January 4, 2017

Not Business As Usual

-2 CHRONICLES 18:28-34

Key Verse:

"And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle" (2 Chronicles 18:29).

It is never business as usual when it is time for God to lay the hammer of judgment on the sinner who persists in his iniquity and refuses to repent. Many in the Scripture and in secular history have embraced this bitter truth in different ways. The tragic twist has always been that they never lived to regret their wicked actions. The end came upon them suddenly as prophesied by the men of God they contemned. That was the fate that befell Ahab, the ungodly king of Israel. He despised God’s true prophets and joined himself to the fake ones who told him false predictions he loved to hear. He persecuted those who stood for the truth. He also married the iniquitous Jezebel whose pastime was given to cruelty, slaying of the prophets of God, idolatry and a conspiracy to dispossess the innocent of their property. The true prophet of God Micaiah prophesied death for Ahab if he went to the battle. Thinking it would be the usual business of trying to outwit God, Ahab disguised himself and dropped the royal robes while convincing his guest (king Jehoshaphat of Judah), to be in his true apparel. At the battle front, Jehoshaphat escaped death by a whisker. He cried out and God showed him mercy when compassed about by enemies. But despite Ahab’s deception, God proved that He cannot be mocked. He demonstrated that a sinner’s devices would not stop the fulfillment of His Word. A randomly shot arrow inflicted a fatal wound on Ahab. As for Jehoshaphat, he could have died as a consequence of not heeding the divine instruction: "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood" (Proverbs 1:10,16). It is folly to expect God to operate on the unhelpful formula of business as usual. This doesn’t change the rigid laws of God.

Thought for the day: On Judgment Day, it will not be business as usual.

Bible Reading in one Year: MATTHEW 8 - 9

Open Heavens Daily Devotional - DO YOU KNOW HIM?

Open Heaven Wednesday January 4 2017- Do you know Him?

DO YOU KNOW HIM? – Wednesday January 4^th 2017

Memorise: Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? John 14:9

Read: John 14:4-11 (KJV)

⁴ And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

⁵ Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

⁷ If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

⁸ Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

⁹ Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

¹⁰ Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

 Bible in one year: Mathew 9:10, Isaiah 3:1-23, Hymn: Sing hymn 3

MESSAGE:

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

Daniel 11:32

It is clear from the above passage of scripture that knowing God is the key to doing exploits. The knowledge of God releases the power that helps us perform exploits. To know God means to be a partaker of His divine nature and essence (2^nd Peter 1:3-4). Because our God is a God of exploits, those who manifest His nature will consequently do exploits. To know God, you need to have experienced Him as God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit. Someone might ask: Does this mean we have three Gods? The answer is no! He is only one God, but He manifests Himself in three personalities. How can this be? Permit me to use myself as an example. To my children, I am Adeboye the father; to my mother, I am Adeboye the son; while to my wife, I am Adeboye the husband. Does this make me three? No. I am still the same person. How I respond over an issue will be determined by the person I’m dealing with. The way I behave as a father will be different from the way I behave as a son or as a husband. 

How God relates with you depends on whether He is relating with you as the Father, as the Son or as the Holy Ghost. To further illustrate, I will use the example of my beautiful crystal drinking glass-cup. If it falls from my son’s hands and gets broken, I will rebuke him sharply with words like: “Son, what is the matter with you? Don’t you know that you should not be careless with such an expensive cup?” But if the same cup falls from my mother’s hands, I would be gentle with her, showing understanding and care. In this case I would say “Mama, take it easy; I hope you were not hurt; I am sorry about that incident ma.” The same cup, the same me, yet my reaction as a father is different from my reaction as a son. Similarly, there are some ways I would relate with my wife that cannot be applied to my mother. For you to boldly say that you know God, you must know Him personally under His three personalities. Can you say you truly know Him? Do you have firsthand knowledge of God as the Father? Have you experienced Him as the Son? Do you walk with Him as the Holy Spirit? What strength or exploit has your knowledge of God produced in your life? Ask God to reveal Himself the more to you today.

Prayer Point:

Father, more than You have ever done, reveal Yourself to me today.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Faith Food Devotional - SAY YOU'RE NEW

January 4

SAY YOU’RE NEW

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.' — GALATIANS 2:20

I was healed on a Tuesday. That Saturday I walked to town, and I happened to run into a friend of mine. We had been bosom buddies. But during the sixteen months I had been bedfast, he had seen me only once. He was the same old creature he had always been — but I had become a new creature. He laughed about the things we used to do. Pointing to a building down the street, he said, “Remember the night . . .” and he went on to talk about the time I had picked the lock on the door so some boys could go in and steal candy. I sat there with a mask-like look on my face, as if I didn’t know what he was talking about. (I remembered it well enough, but I wanted to use this as an opportunity to witness to him.) “What’s the matter with you? You act like you don’t remember — and you were the ringleader,” he finally said. “Lefty, the fellow you were with that night is dead.” “You’re not dead! I know you almost died, but you’re not dead! That’s you sitting there!” “Oh,” I said, “you’re looking at the house I live in — my body. The man on the inside who gave permission to the body to pick that lock, is gone. And this man on the inside is now a new creature in Christ Jesus.”

Confession:
"I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. I hold fast to the confession that I am a new creature."

CGMI ABOVE ONLY - Persevering in Prayers for Divine Restoration

Above Only Daily Devotional
http://cgmglobal.org/aboveonly

Tuesday, January 3

Persevering in Prayers for Divine
Restoration

Isaiah 62:6-8
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shallnever hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD,keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons
of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast labored.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Isaiah 42:19-22, God was declaring through Prophet Isaiah that His servants were the most blind and deaf around because despite all that was happening around them, they were contented and saw no need to cry out to God for restoration of their land. God wants to bless and restore us, but He wants us to call upon Him for that blessing and restoration. He also has incredible plans for our lives, but He wants us to pray and seek Him for for the manifestation of those plans in our lives, Jer.29:11-13. Even though God had declared that He was sending rain to the land of Israel, Elijah still had to go up the mountain to pray until the rain came, 1Kings 18:1, 41-45.

Via persistent prayer, you and I can activate God's unlimited power, authority and glory to prevail upon our lives, the lives of others and our land. We cannot keep quiet and simply expect that things will get better someday, while the devil wreaks unprecedented evil and havoc around us. Jesus said that if an unjust judge will respond to the persistent pleas of a burdened woman, our Heavenly Father will respond to us speedily as we call upon Him day and night, Luke 18:1-8. Do not be discouraged or tired and do not relent. Nehemiah prayed unto God and God brought restoration through him. Esther prayed unto God and God brought restoration through her. As we take our prayers seriously this year, our fervent and effectual prayers will avail much in our lives and in our land, James 5:16-18.

PRAYER FOCUS: Pray for God's restoration in our lives and our land and receive grace to be persistent in prayers this year.

BIBLE IN A YEAR READING PLAN: GEN 8-11

Empowered to do exploits...

David Abioye Devotional - FACE YOUR FEARS

FACE YOUR FEARS

Today: 2017-01-03

…Let not your heart faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them.Deuteronomy 20:3
Never look or run away from what you fear. 

Facing your fear is the only way to stop your fear. Facing your fear is what phases out your fear.The more you confront your fear the bolder you become. If you run away from your fear it will pursue you and may even kill you someday. But once you confront your fear you gain power over it.  If you don’t want your fear to kill you, face it and kill it.

DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL - Change Requires You to Make a Choice

Change Requires You to Make a Choice

BY RICK WARREN — JANUARY 2, 2017

“Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception”(Ephesians 4:22 NLT, second edition).

Change requires making choices. It’s not enough to dream of changing. It’s not enough to desire change. In order for you to change, you will need to make a decision. You must choose to change.

Change is intentional: Are you going to be any different in six months? Are you going to be better a year from now? Are you going to be healthier, stronger, and more mature? Are you going to be happier? Are you going to be less in debt? Are you going to be more like God wants you to be?

I can tell you the answer right now: It will only happen if you choose to change, because it isn’t going to happen accidentally. I want you to be better in 10 years than you are now, but you won’t be unless you choose to be.

It requires a choice.

A lot of times we think we’re waiting on God to change us. No. You are not waiting on God. God is waiting on you! He’s waiting on you to say, “Yes, Lord, I’m willing to make these changes.”

We have to make intentional choices in order to grow. There is no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. If you are going to grow, you will have to change, and change means letting go of some old things in order to grab hold of some new things.

It’s like swinging on a trapeze: The trapeze artist swings out on one bar, and then he has to reach out and grab the other one. At some point, he has to let go of one to grab the other, or he’s not going to make it to the other side. If he thinks he can hold on to both, what happens? He gets stuck in the middle, and he’s going down.

Some of you are stuck in the middle, and you’re going down because you haven’t let go of the old patterns, the old habits, and the old ways of thinking. You have to let go of your old ways.

The Bible says, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT, second edition). In other words, let it go. Those old habits, those old hurts, those old patterns, those old sins in your life — let them go. The Bible says to throw them off and trust that God is working in you “to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13b NIV). 

Talk It Over

• What is a change you’ve been wanting to make in your life but have been waiting on God to do for you?
• How do you think God wants you to move forward with that change? What practical steps do you need to take?
• How do you want your life to be different one year from now? What will it take to accomplish that goal?